UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office ofthe Secretary
Washington. D.C. 20250
NATIONAL WILDFLOWERS WEEK
May 19- 25, 2013
By the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States of America
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS Americans receive great enjoyment from viewing and photographing our
Nation's beautiful native wildflowers and, in so doing, contribute to local economies; and
WHEREAS the Forest Service ofthe United States Department of Agriculture manages our
National Forests and Grasslands, including a diverse array of native wildflowers; and
WHEREAS wildflowers and other native plants in our National Forests and Grasslands help
sustain native ecosystems and contribute to clean air and water; food for humans and wildlife;
and medicines, resins, and dyes; and
WHEREAS professional land managers, in partnership with commw1ities, organizations. and
local, State, and tribal governments, work hard to manage public lands and to conserve our
country's wildflowers and other native plants;
NOW, THEREFORE, in recognition of the significance of our precious natural heritage of
native flora, I, Thomas J. Vilsack, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture,
do hereby proclaim May 19- 25, 2013, as National Wildflowers Week. I call upon the people
of the United States to join me in celebrating the United States Department of Agriculture' s
management of native wildflowers and other plants as well as the enduring benefits provided
to society by native plant resources in America's National Forests and Grasslands.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day of March 2013, the
two-hundred thirty-seventh year of the Independence ofthe United States of America.
ILSACK